Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Short Interest Down 9.0% in October

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a decline of 9.0% from the September 30th total of 1,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 201,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 5.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZPN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.40.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of AZPN stock traded down $3.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $236.99. 15,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,453. Aspen Technology has a 1 year low of $162.26 and a 1 year high of $244.85. The firm has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a PE ratio of -1,505.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $232.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.07.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $342.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.10 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 0.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aspen Technology will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total transaction of $219,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,871,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 77.8% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Aspen Technology by 2,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 313.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 65.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the second quarter worth $37,000. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology, Inc provides industrial software that focuses on helping customers in asset-intensive industries worldwide. The company’s solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. Its software is used in performance engineering, modeling and design, supply chain management, predictive and prescriptive maintenance, digital grid management, and industrial data management.